1. Technical Field
This invention relates to an absorbent garment. In one aspect, this invention relates to diapers, pull-on pants, briefs, and absorbent undergarments. In one aspect, this invention relates to an absorbent undergarment having an absorbent pad shifted forward for containing and absorbing human body waste.
2. Background
Absorbent garments for absorbing human body waste discharges include baby diapers, feminine care products, and incontinence garments. Absorbent garments require an aqueous-liquid-pervious body-side liner, an absorbent pad containing one or more layers for receiving and absorbing a human body waste discharge, and an aqueous-liquid-impervious backing member for containing the human body waste discharge.
Some absorbent garments perform satisfactorily for their intended purpose, but there remains a need to provide an undergarment having preferred absorption characteristics, preferred utilization of the absorbent material, and preferred waste containment characteristics, preferably with a minimum of discomfort to the wearer and a more discrete appearance. Undergarments have not served to facilitate the transfer of aqueous liquids to an entire area of an absorbent layer or layers, including the distal ends of the absorbent layer or layers. Waste absorption is concentrated in a small region of the absorbent layer which results in an under-utilization of much of the absorbent capacity of the undergarment.
Absorbent undergarments and other absorbent personal care garment-like products are worn in a xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d configuration. In a xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d configuration, the front region of the undergarment is worn lower on the wearer""s body than the back region of the undergarment. The center of the undergarment does not coincide with the point of insult. Rather, the point of insult occurs toward the front region of the undergarment. Accordingly, currently available undergarments do not provide adequate absorbent material at the point of insult.
Absorbent undergarments having absorbent pads including centrally located acquisition zones do not provide a preferred absorbency, resulting in product failure.
Some undergarments for absorbing and containing human body waste discharge have been bulky and somewhat ineffective. The absorbent pad has an absorbent capacity location not fully utilized in a bulky configuration, particularly in the central portion and the back region. Such undergarments are uncomfortable to wear, especially if the wearer is an active adult. Such undergarments are costly and inefficient in placement of the absorbent material in the back region where it is not used, but rather the absorbent material in the back region is wasted.
A need exists for an absorbent undergarment having preferred absorbent characteristics and preferred containment characteristics while still being comfortable to wear.
The article and method of the present invention provide a disposable absorbent garment having an initial expanded shape, a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis, a front region, and a back region. The front region and the back region are positioned oppositely on the longitudinal axis, and a central region is positioned between the front region and the back region. The front region, the back region, and the central region each have a length along the longitudinal axis of one third of the length of the absorbent garment. The article and method of the present invention provide an aqueous-liquid-impervious backing member, an aqueous-liquid-pervious body-side liner joined to the backing member to form a joined body-side liner and backing member connected along a periphery of the joined body-side liner and backing member, a rectangular absorbent pad having a front end edge and a back end edge positioned between the body-side liner and the backing member inboard of the periphery of the joined liner and the backing member, and elastic gathers aligned along longitudinally extending margins of the periphery, rendering the garment elastically contractible and body-conforming in the region adjacent the crotch of the wearer. The article and method of the present invention provide the absorbent pad positioned within the regions such that the length of the absorbent pad in the back region divided by the length of the absorbent pad in the front region and the central region is less than 0.10 and the length of the absorbent pad in the front region is greater than the length of absorbent pad in the back region.